Serpent's Skull - Q

written in the night

Good morning, everyone,

I don’t know how long I have to write this. I’m lucid for the moment, but there’s no knowing how long it will last. I would have woken you all up for this, but I . . . I think that it would have made you more sad, knowing that I’d be gone again soon.

Most of the time, it’s really, really hard to think, but I still recognize you all as friends, even if I have trouble talking sometimes. My magical conduits are still functioning, but I’m going to need some guidance sometimes. Please be patient with me.

I can feel myself slipping away with every minute, so I’m going to make the best of the time I have, and see if I can make some repairs. With any luck, I’ll get more lucid moments after this. If not, well, I’ll miss you all so much.

Change is constant. Good times change to bad. Bad times change to good. Weather the bad, and live for the good, because existence is temporary, no matter your lifespan.

In case I don’t get a chance to say it, I love you all, and I wouldn’t trade any of our times together, not for all the unwound time in the world.

Conversations between Constructs

Dee: setting down her tiny pack between two stone chairs “There’s no sign of Rogo here, Beaksworth.”

Beaksworth: flying above to tuck a stretch of canvas between the chairs, making a small enclosure. “I fear the worst, sister. He was tasked with guarding Mother’s body, and in his simpleness, he may have done so at the loss of his own existence.”

Dee: setting out small stone bricks and pieces of wood as tables and chairs beneath the canopy “Mother was missing, too, Beaksworth. Did you notice?”

Beaksworth: hopping in to the miniature shelter “It did not escape my notice, dear sister, and again, I fear the worst.”

Dee: drawing out one scroll at a time, piling them next to several overlarge books “Do you think she has been made undead like Surina?”

Beaksworth: slowly rotating his head 360 degrees, blinking his eyes with a clicking noise. “We were in the Land of the Linnorm Kings long enough that a number of rituals could have been used to transform her.”

Dee: drumming her ceramic fingertips against the makeshift table “We accomplished good things in the past there, though. We re-established the timestream by ensuring the particular death of Fafnir, albeit at the loss of Katri’s brother.”

Beaksworth: clicks his beak sadly

Dee: “And our brother, as well. Our family was halved in the space of a day.”

Beaksworth: looking around at the tiny, makeshift room “What are we to do, Sister?”

Dee: laying out a large parchment as Beaksworth’s eyes click wide “We rebuild, brother. We rebuild.”

+1 Mad Scientist Point

Mo lights up the surrounding area with a twist of a dial. A jet of blue-hot flame issues from the end of her gauntlet. She slips her goggles down and begins welding at her workstation,

After a misadventure in time, you would think the party would want more muscle. After all, the enemy seems to be working in large packs of expendable flunkies, and it’s a fairly effective strategy.

Yes, we’re all still alive, but that fight against the gorilla-demon thing was a little close. Well, not close for me, of course—I’m a genius. But for a party whose main objective was keeping the maybe-pre-version of a presumed goddess alive, they were rather reckless with her life.

So you’d think they’d be a bit more open to the prospect of quick, self-regenerating muscle. I’m still several weeks’ worth of funds away from a functioning golem prototype, and until then, necromancy is really the cheapest and most readily available prospect.

The area glows green as a cascade of sparks fountains out from the worktable. Mo clicks her teeth at the project, cooling it with a prestidigitation spell.

It’s not as if we’ve been shy about leaving corpses in our wake. Whoever these “Red Mantis” jokers think they are, they are extremely fervent about this whole “fight to the death” nonsense. Between beating them to significant time junctures and hacking through the monkey fodder they throw in our way, we’re stacking up a pretty high kill count.

A loud, repetitive clicking noise comes from the workstation until Mo CLANGS a wrench down on it.

And you’d think being hip-deep in blood would give them all LITTLE perspective. But NOOOO, looks like everyone purchased some High Horses for mounts on their way to Saventh-Yhi.

So they’re free to hack and slash and disembowel, but as soon as little ol’ Mo summons a few undead to handle the heavy lifting, it’s “crimes against nature” this and “irreparable stain on your soul” that.

The workstation lets out an unearthly howling noise. Mo juts out her chin and reaches for her wrench.

I!

CLANG!

Don’t!

CLANG!

Care!

CLANG!

The final strike silences the howling, reducing it to a grinding noise reminiscent of sobbing. Expressionless, Mo relights the blue flame on her gauntlet before turning back to her project.

Actors ENUNCIATE

While you all have been polishing your muscles and bladening your knives, or whatever it is you brute-force people do, I’ve been hard at work devising new and fantastic magics for the benefit of all.

First up is the ability to fly. Yes, you heard me—no more finagling with ropes and climbing up precipitous cliffs. Now, with a single application of my spell, you can have the power of flight for 5 minutes at a time. You should know, though, that I’ll only be able to cast it once a day—twice if I’m asked to prepare it that way in the morning.

Next up is my contribution to the world of summoning. I’ve been watching Chrono’s work in the field, and I think I can do better than flinging octopuses at people. I’ve combined the basic principle with some first hand experience to give you a triumph of a spell: Mad Monkeys. The next time we’re up against a horde, I’ll be countering with my own swarm of monkeys.

Lastly, and mot importantly, I’ll be working on the first of many projects. unrolls a sheet of paper and a pile of parts I’ve been studying those soulbound dolls we encountered on the island. I’ve identified the basic principle that makes them run—soul power. However, I’m still a few months away from harnessing that power source. I have, however, come up with an alternative mode of propulsion—springs! I give you the grand design for Axudar, our wind-up delivery monster. When I’m done with this little guy, he’ll be our battlefield delivery system, running weapons, potions, and what have you from person to person. He’s a little bit fragile, but he can fly from person to person to pass on vital objects.

In order to learn how to make Axudar, I’ve had to research not just construct creation, but also the fundamental principles of magical armaments. So while I’ve always got plans for new little friends, between major projects, if you need something built, ask me, and we’ll see if I can wrangle up supplies for it.

c/o The Twilight Academy

Dear Archchancellor Arorius Celestium, A.C.C., ArM, HM, TSHC.,

Taskmage Asmodia Waxwridian, Department of Experimental Magics, writing in! I apologize for the delay and the assertiveness in writing directly to you, as the comings and goings of student research are hardly notable on the schema of the Archchancellor’s schedule. However, I thought the most recent incidents worthy of note.

On an expedition to the Bandu Hills, to research the recent excavations of the Deeptreasure Mining Company (Professor Elemental, my department head, was intimately familiar with the site and gave it a high recommendation), I was stranded on a strange island known to the locals as Serpent’s Shiv. This island was host to a number of strange magical and supernatural effects, affecting the very tides themselves, tied to odd ritual sites and objects. (Diagrams attached.)

I am happy to report that I’ve reached land by joining forces with a ragtag group of explorers. These same explorers, however, are being courted by a number of powerful organizations, including the Pathfinders (those tactless brutes), the Red Mantis Assassins, the Sargovian government, and even some local criminal groups. Much of this interest seems tied to some lost city, Savanth Yi, reputedly a site of great importance.

For the time being, I will accompany this motley crew. After all—if so many great powers are interested in this city, there must be some major magical significance to it. It is possible that study of this city might contribute to my thesis, or even contribute to the Grand Archives of the Twilight Academy. (They have repaired the East Wing, I hope. It was foolish of the Planar Laboratories to summon Fiendish Elephants next door to paper archives.) I will send further missives as the situation develops.

Hope you are well. And I hope that the Alicorns have continued their undefeated Hoopball winning streak (if it’s not too much trouble, I would be absolutely ecstatic to hear of the current Hoopball rankings among the Academies.)

By far the most metro of my spells

The first of them in Make Whole, an improved version of Mending. I can’t cast it nonstop, like Mending, but it’s instantaneous, and fixes a hell of a lot faster and better.

The second spell is of particular use to you heavy brutes in heavy armor. I want you to know that your resident wizard appreciates your efforts in keeping the squishies safe. So I’ve tweaked my mending magics to create a spell that assembles your armor on your bodies.

Ever try to measure
The power of a dream?
Ever sit and wonder
Where water becomes a stream?
In ways there is no difference
From nothing it begins
The pieces come together
And it ebbs and flows and spins
In time it becomes power
No force may stop its flow
None may know its beginning
But all may see it grow
A tiny drop of water
Or a simple little thought
Can change the world we live in
Rewriting rules we’re taught

Where am I? Why am I here?
Why have I got so much water in my ear?
I hear the waves crashing on the shore
Why don’t I know who I am any more?
Why is there sand on my feet?
Why can I hear the sound of my heart beat?
Why is there sand in my mouth?
Where am I North or South?
The years have passed and I have aged
Why do I feel that I am caged?
I can smell the faint scent of sea air
Slowly the water drains out of my hair
I finally know in this nightmare of dreams
Everything here is not what it seems!
As I glance out at sea
I ask myself why me!?
I see the birds overhead
I feel like I am dead.
Stranded on this island of misery
I dream every day of being free!

A blog for your campaign

While the wiki is great for organizing your campaign world, it’s not the best way to chronicle your adventures. For that purpose, you need a blog!

The Adventure Log will allow you to chronologically order the happenings of your campaign. It serves as the record of what has passed. After each gaming session, come to the Adventure Log and write up what happened. In time, it will grow into a great story!

Best of all, each Adventure Log post is also a wiki page! You can link back and forth with your wiki, characters, and so forth as you wish.

One final tip: Before you jump in and try to write up the entire history for your campaign, take a deep breath. Rather than spending days writing and getting exhausted, I would suggest writing a quick “Story So Far” with only a summary. Then, get back to gaming! Grow your Adventure Log over time, rather than all at once.